Imagine following Tiger Woods in his prime onto a golf course, or taking over from Cristiano Ronaldo in the Real Madrid forward line, or stepping onto a stage after Elvis had done his stuff circa 1957.

There — you have some idea of how it must have felt to have been Colin Stephens at the age of just 19, thrown the Llanelli No. 10 shirt after Jonathan Davies had left for rugby league.

Davies, all swagger, speed and skill, was one of the all-time great No. 10s, a mentally and physically tough player who believed in himself and had the ability to back it up. Twenty-nine years after his defection to 13-a-side, Welsh rugby hasn’t seen a comparable fly-half. Whoever came immediately after him had a well-nigh impossible act to follow.

Wales used eight No. 10s in three years after his departure.

But Llanelli put their faith largely in Stephens and he didn’t let them down.

Colin Stephens in action for Llanelli RFC

His playing career hit a high in 1992 when he was elevated to the Wales No. 10 spot and walked off with the man-of-the-match bauble when the Scarlets defeated then world-champions Australia, clinching the win with two drop goals. Stephens was also a key figure as his club pulled off a league-and-cup double to go with their 13-9 success over John Eales and Co.

Yet he was gone from Welsh rugby at the age of 25.

What happened to the man who fired the imaginations of so many West Wales youngsters with his handling, kicking and electric speed over 30 metres?

I had been told he wasn’t the greatest in the matter of answering his mobile phone, but my informant is wrong, and seriously so. Stephens not only answers but rings back later and is seemingly happy to chat for hours.

Rupert Moon (left) plants a kiss on the cheek of Colin Stephens as the pair mull over old times

Let’s cut to the chase, then: Why did he up sticks at Llanelli in 1995, barely two years after steering them to the treble and three years after holding down the Wales No. 10 jersey?

“It’s a long old story but the gist of it is I broke an ankle in a Welsh Cup semi-final against Pontypridd towards the end of the previous season and had some time out,” he says.

“There was a lot going on around that time. The game was turning professional and I had an offer to join Leeds as a development officer. The previous few months hadn’t been the greatest for me, what with the injury and all that, so Leeds came in at the right time.

“There was the lure of a job and I thought: ‘Why not?’

“I signed for Leeds for three years and 23 years later I am still living up there.”

There is a school of thought that Welsh rugby missed a beat with Stephens, that more should have been done to rebuild his self-belief after a spell with Wales that saw his defence come in for criticism.

Talking about the stick Stephens received and the aftermath, Neil Jenkins wrote in his book Life at Number 10: “It got to him and he lost his confidence.

“He failed to regain it at club level and left Llanelli for Leeds, a grievous loss to Welsh rugby. You could see his talent on the training field: his quick hands, his speed off the mark, his awareness and his huge boot.

“He was not the biggest guy around so he was going to be pushed to stop huge forwards on the charge, but he had more pure talent than some of the great outside halves in international history, Grant Fox, Michael Lynagh, Andrew Mehrtens, Naas Botha and Hugo Porta, to name but a few.

“He was unfortunate to be playing at a time when Wales was not a rugby superpower.”

Whatever, Stephens went on to relish life at Leeds and continued to enjoy his rugby after moving on to Huddersfield, Sedgley Park — where he famously rearranged his honeymoon to play in a promotion play-off — and Morley, holding down player-coach and director of rugby responsibilities along the way.

There has even been time for a stint as kicking coach with Warrington Wolves, coinciding with a hugely successful chapter in the club’s history.

And for the past 14 years he has filled a director of rugby role at Leeds Beckett University. In 2015, they won the BUCS Rugby title under his direction.

Colin Stephens in his Wales days

Regrets, then? Does he echo Sinatra and proclaim they are too few to mention?

What do you think?

“You can’t have regrets,” he laughs.

“Hells bells! You go through life making decisions and you do what you can to make the best of those choices.

“I loved my time in Wales and I love it up here as well. The work with the university is fantastically rewarding. The standard is good and it is huge to see players develop during their time with us.

“Will I ever go back to Wales? It’s a big question and one I don’t have to answer right now because I’m really happy in my job up here.”

Stephens has two sons, Iwan (16) and Sam (12), both of whom are interested in sport.

Iwan, in fact, is starting to build quite a name for himself in rugby league, as a talented full-back with Leeds Rhinos Under-16s. “We rate him very highly,” says Rhinos’ head of youth development, Simon Bell.

“Not only is he quick with great feet, he’s also agile and tough.

“Like his dad, he’s not massive, but he will always have a go and he can be direct when he wants to be.”

Born in England but qualified to play for Wales through his father, Iwan was drafted into the renowned Leeds academy at under-16s level at the age of 14 and is on course to secure a spot with the under-19s at the age of just 16.

There are whispers the England rugby league age-grade selectors are watching him closely.

Dad will go with the flow. “I have my opinions on who he should play for if ever it came to that,” laughs Stephens Senior. “But let’s not get ahead of ourselves. He’s only 16.”

Let’s flick back to the pressure fly-halves can be under in Wales. A year or so ago, Arwel Thomas described how he felt after breaking through into the national set-up: “At the age of 21, I didn’t know what hit me.

“Everyone has an opinion and they feel they are entitled to tell you, particularly if the team loses.

“It could be quite wearing.”

Does Stephens empathise? “Absolutely,” comes the reply. “But I suppose scrutiny and pressure go with the territory.

“Certainly, if you are a 10 and you play for the Scarlets and for Wales you are in the spotlight.

“You just have to do your best.

“I was 18 coming out of school when I joined the Scarlets.

Jonathan Davies featured for Llanelli at No. 10 before Colin Stephens

“Within a year Jonathan Davies, a superb player, had left for rugby league. I was lucky there were so many top players and top blokes at the club to help me along and it was wonderful to be involved in the win over Australia and the treble season and win caps for Wales.

“I played against some outstanding fly-halves, including Grant Fox, Joel Stransky and Aled Williams, a No. 10 who always kept defences guessing, and I had to grow up quickly.”

The subject turns to ex-Llanelli coach Gareth Jenkins. “Wow! What a coach!” says Stephens. “His time with Wales may not have worked out as he would have wanted, but you’d have to go a long way to find a better motivator and a more passionate coach than Gareth.

“He knows the game inside out and is still as enthusiastic today as he was 25 years ago.”

WalesOnline’s notepad is close to full, even if Stephens is willing to keep talking.

Rupert Moon

A day later this writer speaks to the former fly-half’s old Llanelli mate, Rupert Moon. “You will have to go a long way to meet a better bloke than Colin,” says Moon. “He was only young when I joined Llanelli but he made me feel welcome and helped me to settle. We’ve been good friends ever since. A top man, Colin Stephens.”

It is hard to disagree.

His time in Wales may have ended sooner than it should have.

But every career has twists and turns.

The key is to enjoy the ride, and Stephens has done that, on and off the field.